Environment information collecting system and aircraft

ABSTRACT

An environment information collecting system collects environment information on a surface of the earth or a surface layer of the earth. The environment information collecting system includes a sensor element which is scattered in a target region where the environment information is collected, of which at least one of reflection properties, transmission properties, absorption properties, or luminescence properties with respective to an electromagnetic wave with a specific wavelength, or light emitting properties changes in accordance with an environment, and an aircraft configured to receive the electromagnetic wave obtained from the sensor element and configured to collect the environment information in the target region.

BACKGROUND Technical Fields

The present invention relates to an environment information collectingsystem and an aircraft.

Priority is claimed on Japanese Patent Application No. 2018-165872,filed on Sep. 5, 2018, the contents of which are incorporated herein byreference.

Related Art

A temperature, a humidity, an air pressure, and other kinds ofenvironment information on the surface of the earth or a surface layerof the earth may be required in various fields such as the fields ofagriculture, fishery, mining, and the like. In an example of the fieldof agriculture, environment information such as water content, atemperature, pH, and the amount of sunshine for soil in whichagricultural crops are produced may be required. It is possible torecognize locations where water or agricultural chemicals areinsufficient and the amounts of insufficiency, for example, if suchenvironment information is obtained and thereby to realize optimizationof the amounts of water or agricultural chemicals used (only requiredamounts of water and agricultural chemicals are scattered at locationswhere they are required).

In recent years, industrialization and an increase in scale of the fieldof agriculture have been attempted in order for a smaller number ofworkers to produce a larger amount of agricultural crops at low costs inthe field of agriculture. On an industrialized large scale farm,watering on a broad farm is performed using sprinklers, for example,seed scattering and agricultural chemical application are performedusing aircrafts or helicopters, and agricultural crops (for example,grains such as rice, wheat, soybeans, and corn) are harvested usinglarge combine harvesters.

On such a large scale farm, water and agricultural chemicals exceedingrequired amounts are used in many cases, and there are thus concerns ofenvironmental problems. For example, there is a concern about aprobability of drought due to depletion of water resources since a largeamount of water is used. Also, there is a concern about a probability ofpest damage due to mass generation of insects that have resistanceagainst agricultural chemicals since large amounts of agriculturalchemicals are used. Therefore, in order to realize sustainableagriculture while protecting the environment, it is also desirable toobtain environment information such as water content, a temperature, pH,and the amount of sunshine and to realize optimization of the amounts ofwater and agricultural chemicals used even in a large-sale farm.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication 2015-141537 disclosesa field observation system adapted to observe a state of a field forsupporting farm work. The field observation system has a sensing unitprovided with various sensors for measuring temperature and the like anda communication unit, includes a field observation device (slave device)located in the field and a management device (master device), and isconfigured such that a transmission request is provided to the fieldobservation device by the management device in a case in which a workerwho brings the management device with him/her approaches the fieldobservation device and a measurement result stored in the fieldobservation device is transmitted to the management device throughnear-field wireless communication or the like.

Incidentally, in the field observation system disclosed in JapaneseUnexamined Patent Application Publication 2015-141537 described above, adistribution of environment information (a two-dimensional distributionof water content contained in soil, for example) can be obtained byinstalling a plurality of field observation devices that serve as slavedevices. Therefore, for example, it is also considered to be possible toobtain a distribution of environment information even on theaforementioned large scale farm if an enormous number of fieldobservation devices are located at specific intervals.

However, since the field observation devices used in the fieldobservation system disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent ApplicationPublication 2015-141537 described above operate using batteries, it isnecessary to periodically replace the batteries. Since an enormousnumber of field observation devices are located on extensive farmland ofa large scale farm and significant efforts and a long period of time arerequired to replace batteries of all the field observation devices,there is a problem that it is difficult to address this work by a smallnumber of workers.

Also, in the field observation system disclosed in Japanese UnexaminedPatent Application Publication 2015-141537 described above, it isnecessary for the worker who brings the management device with him/herto approach the field observation devices in order to obtain measurementresults stored in the field observation devices. Since an enormousnumber of field observation devices are located on the extensivefarmland of the large scale farm, it is necessary for the operator whobrings the management device with him/her to walk around the extensivefarmland and to approach all the field observation devices in order toobtain the measurement results of all the field observation devices,significant efforts and a long period of time are required, and there isa problem that it is difficult to address the replacement by a smallnumber of workers.

SUMMARY

An environment information collecting system that collects environmentinformation on a surface of the earth or a surface layer of the earth,the environment information collecting system may include a sensorelement which is scattered in a target region where the environmentinformation is collected, of which at least one of reflectionproperties, transmission properties, absorption properties, orluminescence properties with respective to an electromagnetic wave witha specific wavelength, or light emitting properties changes inaccordance with an environment, and an aircraft configured to receivethe electromagnetic wave obtained from the sensor element and configuredto collect the environment information in the target region.

Further features and aspects of the present disclosure will becomeapparent from the following detailed description of exemplaryembodiments with reference to the attached drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an outline of an environmentinformation collecting system according to an embodiment of theinvention.

FIG. 2A is a sectional view illustrating a first example of a sensorelement used in the environment information collecting system accordingto an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 2B is a sectional view illustrating a first example of a sensorelement used in the environment information collecting system accordingto an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 3A is a sectional view illustrating a second example of a sensorelement used in the environment information collecting system accordingto an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 3B is a sectional view illustrating a second example of a sensorelement used in the environment information collecting system accordingto an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view illustrating a third example of a sensorelement used in the environment information collecting system accordingto an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view illustrating a fourth example of a sensorelement used in the environment information collecting system accordingto an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating main part configurations of adrone as an aircraft according to an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 7 is a plan view for explaining a method of collecting environmentinformation using the environment information collecting systemaccording to an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an example of environment informationcollected according to an embodiment of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

The embodiments of the present invention will be now described hereinwith reference to illustrative preferred embodiments. Those skilled inthe art will recognize that many alternative preferred embodiments canbe accomplished using the teaching of the present invention and that thepresent invention is not limited to the preferred embodimentsillustrated herein for explanatory purposes.

An aspect of the present invention is to provide an environmentinformation collecting system and an aircraft capable of obtainingenvironment information on the surface of the earth or the surface layerof the earth in a short period of time in an easy manner without anyneed of great effort, and to provide a packaged body in which the sensorelement is packaged by a packaging material.

Hereinafter, an environment information collecting system and anaircraft according to an embodiment of the invention will be describedin detail with reference to the drawings.

(Environment Information Collecting System)

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an outline of an environmentinformation collecting system according to an embodiment of theinvention. As illustrated in FIG. 1, an environment informationcollecting system 1 according to the embodiment includes sensor elements10 scattered on the ground surface GF and a drone 20 (aircraft) whichtransmits an electromagnetic wave E1 with a specific wavelength to theground surface GF on which the sensor elements 10 are scattered, andreceives an electromagnetic wave E2 obtained from the sensor elements10, thereby collecting environment information (for example, watercontent, a temperature, pH, the amount of sunshine, and the like) on theground surface GF.

The sensor elements 10 are elements, which are scattered in a region(target region TA: see FIG. 7) where environment information on theground surface GF is collected, in which at least one of reflectionproperties, transmission properties, absorption properties, orluminescence properties with respect to the electromagnetic wave E1 witha specific wavelength, or light emitting properties changes inaccordance with the surrounding environment. For example, the sensorelements 10 are elements in which reflection properties and transmissionproperties with respect to the electromagnetic wave E1 change inaccordance with a temperature on the ground surface GF, are elements inwhich intensity and the like of fluorescent light or phosphorescentlight emitted by the sensor elements 10 changes in accordance with thewater content or pH on the ground surface GF, or are elements in whichlight emission intensity of chemical (self-) light emission changes inaccordance with the temperature on the ground surface GF (an element inwhich light emitting properties change). Note that elements that containa light-emitting enzyme such as luciferase can be used as the elementsin which light emitting properties change.

A change in the aforementioned properties may be a quantitative changeor a qualitative change. As an example of a quantitative change, it ispossible to exemplify a case in which at least one of reflectance, atransmission rate, or an absorption rate with respect to theelectromagnetic wave E1 with the specific wavelength, a conversion rateof the electromagnetic wave E1 into fluorescent light or phosphorescentlight, or light emitting intensity changes in accordance with a changein environment. As an example of a qualitative change, it is possible toexemplify a case in which at least one of a reflection wavelength, atransmission wavelength, an absorption wavelength, or a luminescencedischarge wavelength with respect to the electromagnetic wave E1 withthe specific wavelength, or a light emitting wavelength changes inaccordance with a change in environment.

The sensor elements 10 are solid bodies and preferably have apredetermined shape. The shape of the sensor elements 10 is notparticularly limited and can be a spherical shape, a plate shape, acubic shape, a columnar shape, a polygonal pillar shape, a cone shape, apolygonal pyramid, or another arbitrary shape. In regard to the plateshape, a shape with a circular, oval, polygonal, or rectangularplan-view shape can be exemplified. Note that all the aforementionedpredetermined shapes are exemplified as the shape of the sensorelements, but the shape of the sensor elements may be irregular.

The number of sensor elements 10 scattered on the ground surface GF isarbitrarily decided. For example, about several hundred to severalhundred thousand sensor elements 10 per 1 [m²] may be used in the fieldof agriculture. Note that the number of sensor elements 10 exemplifiedherein is just an example and it should be noted that the number may besmaller or larger than the exemplified number.

The sensor elements 10 may or may not be biodegradable. For example, itis desirable that the sensor elements 10 used in the field ofagriculture be biodegradable since the sensor elements 10 are used bybeing scattered on extensive farmland and it is difficult to collect thesensor elements 10. It is desirable that such sensor elements 10 aredegraded through biodegradation after a period corresponding to a periodfrom seed scattering of agricultural crops to harvesting of theagricultural crops, for example, elapses. On the other hand, it ispreferable that the sensor elements 10 used for the purpose of measuringtemperatures in a region limited to some extent (for example, a road orthe like) for a long period of time, for example, not be biodegradablesince the sensor elements 10 are not collected for a long period of timeand it is considered to be not very difficult to collect the sensorelements. Note that details of the sensor elements 10 will be describedlater.

The drone 20 has a plurality of (four, for example) blades 21 a (rotarywings) and can autonomously fly along a preset flight route. Note thatthe drone 20 may be adapted to receive a control signal transmitted fromthe outside and fly in accordance with the received control signal. Thedrone 20 includes a transmitter 24 a that transmits the electromagneticwaves E1 with a specific wavelength to the ground surface GF and areceiver 24 b that receives the electromagnetic wave E2 obtained fromthe sensor elements 10. Note that the number of the transmitters 24 aand the receivers 24 b may be one or more.

As the electromagnetic wave E1 transmitted from the transmitter 24 a, anelectromagnetic wave with an appropriate wavelength (frequency) inconsideration of a state of the ground surface GF on which the sensorelements 10 are scattered, properties of the sensor element 10, and thelike is used. As the electromagnetic wave E1, a millimeter wave, aterahertz wave, an infrared ray, a visible ray, an ultraviolet ray, anX-ray, or the like can be used. For example, since the sensor elements10 used in the field of agriculture are mixed in and scattered with afertilizer or a pesticide, there is a case in which the sensor elements10 are present in the ground (for example, in a range of about severaltens of [cm] from the ground surface GF). In such a case, theelectromagnetic wave E1 with a wavelength that has permeability to someextent with respect to soil, for example, is used.

Note that the wavelength of the electromagnetic wave E2 obtained fromthe sensor elements 10 is the same as or is different from thewavelength of the electromagnetic wave E1 transmitted from the drone 20in accordance with properties of the sensor elements 10. For example, ina case in which the sensor elements 10 have properties in whichreflection properties and transmission properties with respect to theelectromagnetic wave E1 change in accordance with the surroundingenvironment, the wavelength of the electromagnetic wave E2 is the sameas that of the electromagnetic wave E1. On the other hand, in a case inwhich the sensor elements 10 have properties in which intensity or thelike of emitted fluorescent light or phosphorescent light changes inaccordance with the surrounding environment, the wavelength of theelectromagnetic wave E2 is different from that of the electromagneticwave E1. Also, the drone 20 includes a scattering device 26 employed toscatter the sensor elements 10 in a target region TA or the like. Notethat details of the details of the drone 20 will be described later.

(Sensor Element)

Hereinafter, an embodiment of the sensor element according to theinvention will be described.

The sensor element according to the embodiment is used to collectenvironment information on the surface of the earth or a surface layerof the earth, and is used by being scattered in a target region wherethe aforementioned environment information is collected, and at leastone of reflection properties, transmission properties, absorptionproperties, or luminescence properties with respect to anelectromagnetic wave with a specific wavelength, or light emittingproperties changes in accordance with the environment.

The aforementioned environment information is not particularly limitedas long as it is a measurable item and is preferably at least one ofwater content, a temperature, a concentration of nutrients such as afertilizer, a constituent ratio of bacterial species in the ground, orpH.

The sensor element according to the embodiment may be employed such thatthe aforementioned environment information is at least either the watercontent or the temperature and the shape thereof changes in accordancewith a change in at least one of these changes.

FIG. 2A and FIG. 2B are sectional views illustrating a first example ofa sensor element used in an environment information collecting systemaccording to an embodiment of the invention. The sensor element 11illustrated in FIG. 2 and FIG. 2B has a shape that changes in accordancewith a change in temperature. As illustrated in FIG. 2A, the sensorelement 11 includes a first base material 11 a and a second basematerial 11 b, and a coefficient of thermal expansion of the first basematerial 11 a depending on a temperature is different from a coefficientof thermal expansion of the second base material 11 b depending on atemperature. The shape of the sensor element is a disk shape with amajor axis of about several [mm] and a thickness of about severalhundreds of [μm], for example.

In a case in which the coefficient of thermal expansion of the secondbase material 11 b is greater than the coefficient of thermal expansionof the first base material 11 a, for example, the sensor element 11 isbent, and the shape thereof changes as illustrated in FIG. 2B if theambient temperature increases. The occurrence of such a change in shapeleads to changes in reflection properties and transmission propertieswith respect to the electromagnetic wave E1.

If the sensor element 11 illustrated in FIG. 2A is deformed asillustrated in FIG. 2B, the size of the sensor element 11 in a plan viewdecreases (the area decreases). The size of the sensor element 11 in aplan view is considered to decrease in proportion to an ambienttemperature rise, for example. Therefore, a substance with highreflectance with respect to the electromagnetic wave E1 may be caused toadhere (or is applied as a coating) to the surface of the sensor element11, for example, so that the reflectance of the sensor element 11changes in accordance with a change in size of the sensor element 11.

Materials of the first base material 11 a and the second base material11 b may be selected in consideration of reflection properties andtransmission properties with respect to the electromagnetic wave E1, astate of the ground surface GF on which the sensor element 11 isscattered, the coefficients of thermal expansion, and the like. As anexample of a combination of the first base material 11 a and the secondbase material 11 b, a combination of a material with a coefficient ofthermal expansion of less than 10 and a material with a coefficient ofthermal expansion of equal to or greater than 10 is exemplified. As thematerial with the coefficient of thermal expansion of less than 10,polystyrene, an AS resin, polycarbonate, polymethyl methacrylate, aphenol resin, an epoxy resin, and the like are exemplified. As thematerial with the coefficient of thermal expansion of equal to orgreater than 10, polyethylene, polyvinylidene chloride, polyvinylidenefluoride, polyethylene terephthalate, cellulose acetate, and the likeare exemplified.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view illustrating a second example of a sensorelement used in the environment information collecting system accordingto an embodiment of the invention. A sensor element 12 illustrated inFIG. 3 has a shape that changes in accordance with a change in watercontent. As illustrated in FIG. 3(a), the sensor element 12 includes athird base material 12 a and a fourth base material 12 b, and a rate ofchange in volume of the third base material 12 a depending on waterretention differs from a rate of change in volume of the fourth basematerial 12 b depending on water retention. The shape of the sensorelement is a disk shape with a major axis of about several [mm] and athickness of several hundreds of [μm], for example.

The “rate of change in volume” is defined by the following formula.Rate of change in volume (%)=(V1−V2)/V2×100(In the above formula, V1 represents the volume of the base materialafter the base material is dipped in water at a temperature of 25° C.for 15 minutes, and V2 represents the volume of the base material beforeV1 undergoes the aforementioned treatment after fabrication).

In a case in which the rate of change in volume of the fourth basematerial 12 b depending on water retention is greater than the rate ofchange in volume of the third base material 12 a depending on waterretention, for example, the sensor element 12 is bent, and the shapethereof changes as illustrated in FIG. 3(b) if the ambient water contentrises. The occurrence of such a change in shape leads to changes inreflection properties and transmission properties with respect to theelectromagnetic wave E1.

If the sensor element 12 illustrated in FIG. 3(a) is deformed asillustrated in FIG. 3(b), the size of the sensor element 12 in a planview decreases (the area decreases). The size of the sensor element 12in a plan view is considered to decrease in proportion to a rise in theambient water content, for example. Therefore, a substance with highreflectance with respect to the electromagnetic wave E1 may be caused toadhere (or is applied as a coating) to the surface of the sensor element12, for example, so that the reflectance of the sensor element 12changes in accordance with a change in size of the sensor element 12.

Materials of the third base material 12 a and the fourth base material12 b are selected in consideration of reflection properties andtransmission properties with respect to the electromagnetic wave E1, astate of the ground surface GF on which the sensor element 12 isscattered, water absorption properties, and the like. For the third basematerial 12 a, a highly crystalline polymer molded article such as acellulose film, for example, can be exemplified. For the fourth basematerial 12 b, a molded article of a composite polysaccharide such as apectin film, for example, can be exemplified.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view illustrating a third example of a sensorelement used in the environment information collecting system accordingto an embodiment of the invention. A sensor element 13 illustrated inFIG. 4 includes a substance in which at least one of reflectionproperties, transmission properties, absorption properties, orluminescence properties with respect to an electromagnetic wave with aspecific wavelength, and light emitting properties changes in accordancewith a change in pH. As illustrated in FIG. 4, the sensor element 13includes a pigment 13 b inside a transparent base material 13 a, forexample, and has a disk shape with a diameter of about several [mm] anda thickness of about several hundreds of [μm], for example. Note thatalthough FIG. 4 illustrates the pigment 13 b in the form of particlesfor easy understanding, the pigment 13 b is not necessarily granular.

The pigment 13 b is a pH-responsive pigment. The pH-responsive pigmentis one in which at least one of reflection properties, transmissionproperties, absorption properties, or luminescence properties withrespect to an electromagnetic wave with a specific wavelength, or lightemitting properties changes in accordance with a change in pH.

As the pH-responsive pigment, a pigment with a color changing inaccordance with a concentration of hydrogen ions is exemplified, apigment that is used as a pH indicator may also be used, and examplesthereof include litmus, bromothymol blue, bromophenol blue, bromocresolpurple, phenol red, phenolphthalein, methyl orange, methyl red, methylyellow, methyl violet, thymol blue, thymol phthalein, and the like.

The pH-responsive pigment may be a pH-sensitive fluorescent pigment. Asthe pH-sensitive fluorescent pigment, a fluorescent pigment in which afluorescent light color or intensity of fluorescent light changes inaccordance with a concentration of hydrogen ions is exemplified, and forexample, pHrodo (registered trademark), Ageladine A, CypHer 5, and thelike can be exemplified.

The sensor element 13 may include one kind of pigment alone or mayinclude two or more kinds in combination.

In a case in which the pigment 13 b is a pH-sensitive fluorescentpigment, for example, if the sensor element 13 is irradiated with theelectromagnetic wave E1, the pigment 13 b provided in the sensor element13 is excited, and this leads to emission of fluorescent light orphosphorescent light from the sensor element 13. The intensity or thelike of the fluorescent light or the phosphorescent light changes inaccordance with pH around the sensor element 13. In this manner, in acase in which the pigment 13 b is a pH-sensitive fluorescent pigment,the sensor element 13 illustrated in FIG. 3 is excited by theelectromagnetic wave E1, and luminescence properties thereof change inaccordance with ambient pH.

The material of the base material 13 a and the pigment 13 b are selectedin consideration of luminescence properties, a state of the groundsurface GF on which the sensor element 13 is scattered, and the like.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view illustrating a fourth example of a sensorelement used in the environment information collecting system accordingto an embodiment of the invention. A sensor element 14 illustrated inFIG. 5 includes a fluorescent pigment 14 c. The fluorescent pigment 14 cmay not correspond to the aforementioned pigment in which at least oneof the aforementioned properties changes in accordance with theenvironment. As illustrated in FIG. 5, the sensor element 14 is providedwith the fluorescent pigment 14 c inside the first base material 11 aand the second base material 11 b in the first example of the sensorelement illustrated in FIG. 2A and FIG. 2B. By the sensor element 14including the fluorescent pigment 14 c, it becomes easy to distinguishthe wavelength obtained from the sensor element from the otherwavelengths, and precision in collecting information is thus improved.

As such a fluorescent pigment, acridine orange, auramine O, calcofluorwhite, ethidium bromide, fluorescein isothiocyanate, Hoechst 33258,Rhodamine B, and the like are exemplified.

The sensor element according to the embodiment may or may not bebiodegradable and is preferably biodegradable.

Therefore, the sensor element according to the embodiment is preferablymade of a biodegradable material. By the sensor element according to theembodiment being made of a biodegradable material, the sensor element isdegraded in the target region where environment information iscollected, and it is thus not necessary to collect the sensor element.Therefore, it is possible to reduce costs for the collection and toreduce an environmental impact.

As a biodegradable material, a material that can be degraded withmicroorganisms or enzymes such as biodegradable plastic is exemplified.As the biodegradable material, polylactic acid, polycaprolactone,polyhydroxyalkanoate, a polyhydroxy butyric acid, a polyglycolic acid,polyvinyl alcohol, casein, starch, esterified starch, cellulose, pectin,agar, gelatin, for example, are exemplified.

In addition, the sensor element according to the embodiment ispreferably made of a material derived from biomass from the viewpoint ofreducing an environmental impact. Also, it is preferable that the sensorelement according to the embodiment contains substantially no materialsderived from petroleum.

It is preferable that the sensor element according to the embodimentcontain substantially no metal. In an environment information collectingsystem in the related art, it is essential for a sensor element tocontain metal since an observation device naturally has an electroniccircuit or the like. Meanwhile, since the sensor element according tothe embodiment that contains substantially no metal can realize itsfunction without including metal, metals do not contaminate a field orthe like even if the sensor element is scattered on the field. As ametal, copper, iron, aluminum, zinc, mercury, gold, silver, platinum,lithium, chromium, nickel, manganese, vanadium, rhodium, palladium, andthe like are exemplified.

Similarly, the sensor element according to the embodiment preferablydoes not include an electronic component. While the electronic componentis an essential configuration in the environment information collectingsystem in the related art, the sensor element according to theembodiment can realize its function without being provided with anyelectronic component. As the electronic component, a semiconductordevice, a substrate, a printed substrate, an antenna, a battery, anelectrical wire, a lead wire, and the like are exemplified.

The sensor element itself according to the embodiment preferably doesnot have a function of emitting an electromagnetic wave.

Although the size and the form of the sensor element according to theembodiment are not particularly limited, a sensor element in an exampleis in the form of a particle, and an average particle size is preferably0.1 to 5 mm, is more preferably 0.3 to 3 mm, and is further preferably 1to 2 mm. Here, the “particle size” refers to a diameter of a circle thatcircumscribes a projected image of the sensor element, and theaforementioned projected image is projected in a direction selected atrandom. The “average particle size” is acquired as an average numericalvalue of the aforementioned particle sizes of a group of sensorelements.

(Method for Manufacturing Sensor Element)

A method for manufacturing the sensor element is not particularlylimited, and for example, the sensor element can be manufactured bymolding the materials exemplified above. In a case in which the sensorelement provided with the base materials exemplified above ismanufactured, for example, a material of the base material and a solventare first kneaded to obtain a raw material composition, the compositionis molded by a known sheet molding method, and the thus obtained sheetis cut into a shape of the sensor element, thereby obtaining the sensorelement. In a case in which the sensor element contains a pigment, thepigment may be added to the aforementioned raw material composition. Asthe sheet molding method, a melt extrusion molding method, a solutioncasting method, a calendering method, a co-extrusion method, alamination method, and the like are exemplified.

(Packaged Body)

According to an embodiment of the invention, it is possible to provide apackaged body in which the sensor element is packaged by a packagingmaterial. As the packaging material, a material that is ordinarily usedas an agricultural material can be used, a packaging material for afertilizer, soil, a soil conditioner, or the like can be used instead,for example, and a polyvinyl chloride sheet, a polyolefin sheet, and thelike are exemplified. The number of the sensor elements included in onepackaged body is not particularly limited, but may be equal to orgreater than 1,000, may be 1,000 to 5,000,000,000,000, may be 10,000 to1,000,000,000, or may be 100,000 to 10,000,000 per one packaged body onone example.

Including a large number of sensor elements in one packaged body makesit possible to acquire environment information using a large number ofsensor elements at one time, and it is possible to collect theenvironment information with high resolution in a wide range, forexample.

The packaged body according to the embodiment may include a descriptionthat the packaged body is used by being scattered in a target regionwhere the aforementioned environment information is collected. That is,the packaged body according to the embodiment may include a descriptionabout a method of using the sensor elements. For the method of using thesensor elements, details in <Method of using sensor elements> describedbelow can be referenced.

The description may be expressed on the surface of the packagedmaterial, or the description may be expressed in the accompanyinginstructions, and the instructions and the sensor elements may beincluded in the packaged body together.

<Method of Using Sensor Elements>

According to an aspect of the invention, it is possible to provide amethod of using sensor elements in which the aforementioned sensorelements are scattered in a target region where the aforementionedenvironment information is collected. For reception of electromagneticwaves obtained from the sensor elements and acquisition of environmentinformation after the scattering, see the details in <Environmentinformation collecting system>, <Aircraft>, and <Method for collectingenvironment information>.

Although the degree of the scattering of the sensor elements is notparticularly limited, 1 to 100,000 of sensor elements may be scattered,10 to 10,000 sensor elements may be scattered, or 100 to 5,000 sensorelements may be scattered per 1 m². By the degree of the scattering ofthe sensor elements per 1 m² falling within the aforementioned range, itis possible to collect the environment information with high resolution.

As a timing of the scattering of the sensor elements, for example,before seeding of agricultural crops raised in the target region, at thesame time with the seeding, and a timing within one week after theseeding are exemplified, and it is preferable to scatter the sensorelements such that the sensor elements are located in the target regionin a period from the seeding to the harvesting of the agriculturalcrops.

Although positions at which the sensor elements are scattered arepreferably on the surface of a planting region in which the agriculturalcrops are raised, the sensor elements may be mixed into soil to such anextent that the electromagnetic waves from the sensor elements can bereceived. As the scattered positions relative to the agricultural crops,positions within 100 cm from main stems of the agricultural crops arepreferable, positions within 10 cm are more preferable, and positionswithin 1 cm are further preferable.

(Aircraft)

FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating main part configurations of adrone as an aircraft according to an embodiment of the invention. Asillustrated in FIG. 6, the drone 20 includes a plurality of rotors 21, aplurality of electric speed controllers (ESCs) 22, a flight controller23, an environment information collecting device 24, a battery 25, and ascattering device 26. Note that the drone 20 exemplified in FIG. 6includes four pairs of rotors 21 and ESCs 22.

Each rotor 21 includes a blade 21 a and a motor 21 b. The blade 21 a isa so-called propeller and is for obtaining the buoyancy required for thedrone 20 to fly. The blade 21 a is coupled to a rotation shaft of themotor 21 b, and rotation thereof is driven by the motor 21 b. The blade21 a is formed using, for example, plastic, carbon, an ABS resin, or thelike. Rotation of the motor 22 b is driven by the ESC 22, and the motor22 causes the blade 21 a coupled to the rotation shaft to rotate. As themotor 22, a brushless motor, for example, can be used.

The plurality of ESCs 22 are provided to correspond to the plurality ofrotors 21, respectively, and control rotation speeds of the motors 21 bprovided at the corresponding rotors 21 under control of the flightcontroller 23. Specifically, the ESCs 22 cause the motors 21 b to rotateat speeds indicated by the flight controller FC. Note that in the drone20 illustrated in FIG. 6, four ESCs 22 are provided to correspond to thefour rotors 21, respectively, and are individually controlled by theflight controller 23.

The flight controller 23 includes a flight control sensor group 23 a, aposition detector 23 b, a receiver 23 c, and a control device 23 d andperforms flight control for the drone 20. The flight controller 23 cancause the drone 20 to autonomously fly (hereinafter, referred to as“auto-pilot”) and can also cause the drone 20 to fly in accordance witha control signal transmitted from the outside (hereinafter, referred toas “manual manipulation”). Note that the flight controller 23 may beable to perform either the auto-pilot or the manual manipulation.

The flight control sensor group 23 a is a sensor group required toperform flight control for the drone 20. The flight control sensor group23 a includes various sensors such as, for example, a three-axisacceleration sensor, a three-axis angular velocity sensor, an airpressure sensor (altitude sensor), and a geomagnetic sensor (azimuthsensor). The position detector 23 b is provided with, for example, apositioning function such as a global positioning system (GPS) anddetects position information of the drone 20 using the positioningfunction. Note that the method of detecting the position information ofthe drone 20 is not limited to the method using the positioning functionof GPS and an arbitrary positioning method can be used.

The receiver 23 c receives a control signal for controlling the flightof the drone 20 that is transmitted from the outside. For example, thereceiver 23 c receives a control signal that is transmitted as awireless signal from a manipulation device (a device that is used tomanually manipulate the drone 20), which is not illustrated in thedrawing. Note that in a case in which the flight controller 23 canperform only auto-pilot, the receiver 23 c is omitted.

The control device 23 d acquires information indicating a flight stateof the drone 20 from detection results of the flight control sensorgroup 23 a and the position detector 23 b and controls a posture whenthe drone 20 flies and a basic flight operation using the acquiredinformation. The control device 23 d can acquire, as the aforementionedinformation indicating the flight state, inclination and rotation of thebody of the drone 20, a latitude and a longitude during flight, analtitude, an azimuth angle of the nose, position information of thedrone 20 itself, and the like. The control device 23 d causes the drone20 to fly while individually controlling the ESCs 22, adjusting therotation frequency of the rotors 21, and correcting disordered postureand position of the body, with reference to the aforementionedinformation indicating the flight state.

Also, the control device 23 d can store flight route information FTrequired for auto-pilot. The flight route information FT is informationincluding a flight route, a speed, an altitude, and the like. During theauto-pilot, the control device 23 d adjusts the rotation frequency ofthe rotors 21 and causes the drone 20 to autonomously fly along thepreset flight route, with reference to the aforementioned informationindicating the flight state and the flight route information FT. On theother hand, during manual manipulation, the control device 23 d adjuststhe rotation frequency of the rotors 21 and causes the drone 20 to flyin accordance with an instruction from the outside, with reference tothe aforementioned information indicating the flight state and thecontrol signal received by the receiver 23 c.

The environment information collecting device 24 includes thetransmitter 24 a, the receiver 24 b, a recorder 24 c, and an output unit24 d and collects environment information on the ground surface GF, forexample. The transmitter 24 a transmits the electromagnetic wave E1 withthe specific wavelength to the ground surface GF as described above, andthe receiver 24 b receives the electromagnetic wave E2 obtained from thesensor elements 10 as described above (see FIG. 1). The recorder 24 cincludes a RAM (readable and writable memory) or the like and records areception result of the receiver 24 b. Here, the recorder 24 c recordsthe reception result of the receiver 24 b along with the aforementionedinformation (for example, position information) indicating a flightstate of the drone 20. In this manner, the reception result of thereceiver 24 b and the position information of the drone 20, for example,are recorded in the recorder 24 c in an associated manner.

The output unit 24 d outputs information recorded in the recorder 24 cto the outside. For example, the output unit 24 d may be configured toperform communication (wired communication or wireless communication)with an external device (for example, a personal computer, a smartphone,a tablet, or the like) and output information recorded in the recorder24 c to the outside, or may be configured to write various kinds ofinformation in a detachable recording medium (for example, anon-volatile memory) and output information recorded in the recorder 24c to the outside.

The battery 25 supplies electric power required by the drone 20 tooperate to each block of the drone 20. Specifically, the battery 25supplies the electric power to the rotors 21 (motors 21 b), the ESCs 22,the flight controller 23, the environment information collecting device24, and the scattering device 26. The battery 25 may be, for example, alithium ion battery or the like that can be attached to and detachedfrom the body of the drone 20. Note that although one battery 25 isillustrated in FIG. 6, a battery for supplying electric power requiredby the drone 20 to fly and a battery for supplying electric powerrequired for collecting environment information and causing thescattering device 26 to operate may be separately provided.

The scattering device 26 can accommodate the sensor elements 10 therein.The scattering device 26 scatters the sensor elements 10 accommodatedtherein. For example, the scattering device 26 scatters the sensorelements 10 in the target region TA or the like. Specifically, thescattering device 26 scatters the sensor elements 10 on the basis of acontrol signal (a control signal for providing an instruction for thescattering that is received by the receiver 23 c) transmitted from theoutside or a control signal for providing an instruction for thescattering that is output from the control device 23 d. By includingsuch a scattering device 26, for example, it is possible to recover thefunctions of the sensor element 10 lost through biodegradation byscattering the sensor elements 10 in the target region TA in a case inwhich the sensor elements 10 are biodegradable.

<Method for Collecting Environment Information>

FIG. 7 is a plan view for explaining a method for collecting environmentinformation using the environment information collecting systemaccording to an embodiment of the invention. Note that an example of amethod for collecting environment information by causing the drone 20 toperform auto-pilot will be described here. The rectangular regionillustrated in FIG. 7 represents the target region TA (a region set onthe ground surface GF) in which environment information is collectedusing the drone 20. The sensor elements 10 are scattered in advance inthe target region TA. Note that a reduced number of the sensor elements10 are illustrated in FIG. 7 for convenience of illustration.

Also, the target region TA is sectioned into a plurality of grid-likesubregions R as illustrated in FIG. 7. The subregions R represent unitsin which the environment information is collected. It is possible toimprove resolution by setting the area of each subregion R to be smallor to reduce the resolution by setting the area to be large. The size ofeach subregion R depends on properties of the receiver 24 b provided inthe environment information collecting device 24, a flight altitude ofthe drone 20, and the like. Here, the flight route RT of the drone 20 isset such that the drone 20 passes over all the subregions R in onestroke as illustrated in the drawing. Note that the altitude of theflight route RT of the drone 20 is assumed to be constant here for easyexplanation.

Auto-pilot of the drone 20 is started by, for example, a user operatinga manipulator provided in the drone 20, which is not illustrated, andproviding an instruction for starting the auto-pilot. If the auto-pilotis started, the control device 23 d provided in the flight controller 23of the drone 20 acquires information indicating a flight state of thedrone 20 from detection results of the flight control sensor group 23 aand the position detector 23 b and adjusts the rotation frequency of therotors 21 with reference to the acquired information and the flightroute information FT. In this manner, the drone 20 autonomously fliesalong the flight route RT illustrated in FIG. 7.

In parallel to the aforementioned operations, the transmitter 24 aprovided in the environment information collecting device 24 transmitsthe electromagnetic wave E1 with the specific wavelength to the targetregion TA, and the electromagnetic wave E2 obtained from the sensorelements 10 is received by the receiver 24 b. The reception result ofthe receiver 24 b is recorded along with the information (for example,position information) indicating the flight state of the drone 20 thatis acquired by the control device 23 d. In this manner, the receptionresult of the electromagnetic wave E2 obtained from the sensor elements10 when the drone 20 autonomously flies along the flight route RT isrecorded in the recorder 24 c along with the position information andthe like.

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an example of environment informationcollected according to an embodiment of the invention. Note that theenvironment information illustrated in FIG. 8 is obtained, for example,when the drone 20 flies along the flight route RT from the position P1to the position P2 in FIG. 7 in a case where the sensor elements 10 inwhich the reflection properties and transmission properties with respectto the electromagnetic wave E1 change in accordance with an ambienttemperature are scattered in the target region TA. Here, since thesensor elements 10 scattered in the target region T1 have reflectionproperties and the transmission properties with respect to theelectromagnetic wave E1 that change in accordance with the ambienttemperature, it is possible to obtain the ambient temperatures of thesensor elements 10 as long as it is possible to obtain the reflectanceof the electromagnetic wave E1 (a ratio between reception results of theelectromagnetic wave E1 and the electromagnetic wave E2). That is,collecting the reflectance of the electromagnetic wave E1 is synonymouswith collecting the ambient temperatures of the sensor elements 10.

The drone 20 flies along the flight route RT from the position P1 to theposition P3 in FIG. 7, thereby obtaining reflectance over the entirelength of the flight route RT (the reflectance along the flight routeRT). As illustrated in FIG. 7, since the flight route RT is set so as topass above all subregions R in one stroke, it is possible to obtain thereflectance (temperature) in all subregions R. In this manner, it ispossible to obtain a temperature distribution (temperature distributionin a plane) within the target region TA set on the ground surface GF.

Note that the reflectance in the subregions R may be obtained byperforming a predetermined arithmetic operation (for example, anaveraging operation) on reflectance obtained during passing above eachsubregion R among reflectance successively obtained along the flightroute RT, for example. Alternatively, the reflectance in the subregion Rmay be obtained by acquiring reflectance once above each subregion R(discretely acquiring reflectance) instead of successively obtaining thereflectance along the flight route RT.

As described above, although collecting the reflectance of theelectromagnetic wave E1 is synonymous with collecting ambienttemperatures of the sensor elements 10, a process of obtaining theambient temperatures of the sensor elements 10 from the reflectance ofthe electromagnetic wave E1 may be performed inside the drone 20 or maybe performed outside the drone 20. In a case in which the process isperformed inside the drone 20, for example, it is only necessary toprovide an arithmetic operator for converting a reception result of thereceiver 24 b (indicating the reflectance of the electromagnetic waveE1) into temperatures in the environment information collecting device24. In this case, the temperatures obtained by the arithmetic operatorare recorded in the recorder 24 c along with position information andthe like. In a case in which the process is performed outside the drone20, the information recorded in the recorder 24 c is output to anexternal device (for example, a personal computer) from the output unit24 d, and the temperatures are obtained by the external device.

As described above, according to the embodiment, the drone 20 (thetransmitter 24 a of the environment information collecting device 24)transmits the electromagnetic wave E1 with a specific wavelength to thetarget region TA in which the sensor elements 10 are scattered on theground GF, and the drone 20 (the receiver 24 b of the environmentinformation collecting device 24) receives the electromagnetic wave E2obtained from the sensor elements 10, thereby collecting environmentinformation (for example, water content, a temperature, pH, the amountof sunshine, and the like) on the ground surface GF. Therefore, it ispossible to obtain the environment information on the surface of theearth or a surface layer of the earth in a short period of time in aneasy manner without any need of great effort as in the related art.

Although the environment information collecting system and the aircraftaccording to the embodiment of the invention have been described above,the invention is not limited to the aforementioned embodiment, andmodifications can be freely made within the scope of the invention. Forexample, although the drone 20 as an unmanned aircraft has beenexemplified as the aircraft in the aforementioned embodiment, theaircraft is not limited to the unmanned aircraft and may be a mannedaircraft. Note that the unmanned aircraft may be an arbitrary devicethat can be caused to fly through remote control or an autopilot amongan airplane, a rotary wing aircraft, a glider, an airship, or anothermachine with a structure on which no man can ride.

Also, the example in which the sensor elements 10 are scattered on theground surface GF to collect environment information on the groundsurface GF has been described in the aforementioned embodiment. However,the sensor elements 10 may be scattered in a surface of a sea, a surfaceof a lake, a surface of a river, or the like to collect environmentinformation on the surface of the sea, the surface of the lake, thesurface of the river, or the like. Also, the sensor elements 10 may bescattered in the ground, in water, in a sea, or the like to collectenvironment information in the ground, in the water, in the sea, or thelike as long as it is possible to transmit and receive theelectromagnetic waves E1 and E2. That is, the environment informationcollecting system according to the invention can collect environmentinformation on the surface of the earth or a surface layer of the earth.

Also, the example in which the drone 20 includes the transmitter 24 athat transmits the electromagnetic wave E1 with a specific wavelengthhas been described in the aforementioned embodiment. However, in a casein which the electromagnetic wave E1 with the specific wavelength isobtained from solar light, it is possible to omit the transmitter 24 a.Also, in a case in which the sensor elements 10 are elements in whichlight emitting properties change in accordance with an ambientenvironment, the electromagnetic wave E2 received by the receiver 24 bis self-light emission emitted from the sensor elements 10, and it isthus possible to omit the transmitter 24 a for transmitting theelectromagnetic wave E1 with the specific wavelength. Note that in acase in which it is not necessary to scatter the sensor elements 10, itis also possible to omit the scattering device 26.

Also, the sensor elements that are scattered by being mixed into afertilizer or a pesticide have been exemplified and described as thesensor elements 10 used in the field of agriculture in theaforementioned embodiment. However, sensor elements that are caused tocontain fertilizer components or the like therein, for example, can alsobe used as the sensor elements 10 used in the field of agriculture. In acase in which such sensor elements 10 are scattered on farmland, thefertilizer components contained therein are released to the outside andpenetrate into the soil of the farmland, but the sensor elements 10 fromwhich the fertilizer components have been released do not lose functionsas sensor elements.

[Supplementary Note]

In order to solve the aforementioned problems, the environmentinformation collecting system (1) of one embodiment of the presentinvention collects environment information on a surface of the earth ora surface layer of the earth. The environment information collectingsystem of one embodiment of the present invention includes a sensorelement (10) which is scattered in a target region (TA) where theenvironment information is collected, of which at least one ofreflection properties, transmission properties, absorption properties,or luminescence properties with respective to an electromagnetic wave(E1) with a specific wavelength, or light emitting properties changes inaccordance with an environment, and an aircraft (20) configured toreceive the electromagnetic wave (E2) obtained from the sensor elementand configured to collect the environment information in the targetregion.

In the environment information collecting system of one embodiment ofthe present invention, the aircraft includes a receiver (24 b)configured to receive the electromagnetic wave obtained from the sensorelement, and a recorder (24 c) configured to record a reception resultof the receiver.

In the environment information collecting system of one embodiment ofthe present invention, the aircraft includes a transmitter (24 a)configured to transmit the electromagnetic wave with the specificwavelength to the target region.

In the environment information collecting system of one embodiment ofthe present invention, the electromagnetic wave with the specificwavelength is a millimeter wave, a terahertz wave, an infrared ray, avisible ray, an ultraviolet ray, or an X-ray.

In the environment information collecting system of one embodiment ofthe present invention, the electromagnetic wave obtained from the sensorelement is an electromagnetic wave with a wavelength that is differentfrom the specific wavelength of the electromagnetic wave.

In the environment information collecting system of one embodiment ofthe present invention, the aircraft includes a plurality of rotary wings(21 a), and a flight controller (23) configured to control the rotarywings in accordance with flight route information (FT) indicating apreset flight route (RT) and configured to cause the aircraft toautonomously fly along the flight route.

In the environment information collecting system of one embodiment ofthe present invention, the aircraft further includes a scattering device(26) configured to scatter the sensor element in the target region.

In the environment information collecting system of one embodiment ofthe present invention, the sensor element includes a fertilizercomponent.

In the environment information collecting system of one embodiment ofthe present invention, the aircraft further includes a position detector(23 b) configured to detect position information of the aircraft, andthe recorder records the reception result of the receiver along with theposition information detected by the position detector.

In the environment information collecting system of one embodiment ofthe present invention, the aircraft further includes an output unit (24d) configured to output, to the outside, the reception result and theposition information recorded by the recorder.

In the environment information collecting system of one embodiment ofthe present invention, the environment information indicates at leastone of water content, a temperature, pH, or an amount of sunshine.

An aircraft (20) of one embodiment of the present invention collectsenvironment information on a surface of the earth or a surface layer ofthe earth. The aircraft of one embodiment of the present inventionincludes a receiver (24 b) configured to receive an electromagnetic wave(E2) obtained from a sensor element (10), which is scattered in a targetregion where the environment information is collected, of which at leastone of reflection properties, transmission properties, absorptionproperties, or and luminescence properties with respect to theelectromagnetic wave (E1) with a specific wavelength, or light emittingproperties changes in accordance with an environment, and a recorder (24c) configured to record a reception result of the receiver.

The aircraft of one embodiment of the present invention, furtherincludes a transmitter (24 a) configured to transmit the electromagneticwave with the specific wavelength to the target region.

In the aircraft of one embodiment of the present invention, theelectromagnetic wave with the specific wavelength is a millimeter wave,a terahertz wave, an infrared ray, a visible ray, an ultraviolet ray, oran X-ray.

In the aircraft of one embodiment of the present invention, theelectromagnetic wave obtained from the sensor element is anelectromagnetic wave with a wavelength that is different from thespecific wavelength of the electromagnetic wave.

The aircraft of one embodiment of the present invention, furtherincludes a plurality of rotary wings (21 a), and a flight controller(23) configured to control the rotary wings in accordance with flightroute information (FT) indicating a preset flight route (RT) andconfigured to cause the aircraft to autonomously fly along the flightroute.

The aircraft of one embodiment of the present invention, furtherincludes a scattering device (26) configured to scatter the sensorelement in the target region.

In the aircraft of one embodiment of the present invention, the sensorelement includes a fertilizer component.

The aircraft of one embodiment of the present invention, furtherincludes a position detector (23 b) configured to detect positioninformation of the aircraft, and the recorder records the receptionresult of the receiver along with the position information detected bythe position detector.

The aircraft of one embodiment of the present invention, furtherincludes an output unit (24 d) configured to output, to the outside, thereception result and the position information recorded by the recorder.

According to the invention, there is an advantage that it is possible toobtain environment information on the surface of the earth or a surfacelayer of the earth in a short period of time in an easy manner withoutany need of great effort.

As used herein, the following directional terms “front, back, above,downward, right, left, vertical, horizontal, below, transverse, row andcolumn” as well as any other similar directional terms refer to thoseinstructions of a device equipped with the present invention.Accordingly, these terms, as utilized to describe the present inventionshould be interpreted relative to a device equipped with the presentinvention.

The term “configured” is used to describe a component, unit or part of adevice includes hardware and/or software that is constructed and/orprogrammed to carry out the desired function.

Moreover, terms that are expressed as “means-plus function” in theclaims should include any structure that can be utilized to carry outthe function of that part of the present invention.

The term “unit” is used to describe a component, unit or part of ahardware and/or software that is constructed and/or programmed to carryout the desired function. Typical examples of the hardware may include,but are not limited to, a device and a circuit.

While preferred embodiments of the present invention have been describedand illustrated above, it should be understood that these are examplesof the present invention and are not to be considered as limiting.Additions, omissions, substitutions, and other modifications can be madewithout departing from the scope of the present invention. Accordingly,the present invention is not to be considered as being limited by theforegoing description, and is only limited by the scope of the claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. An environment information collecting system thatcollects environment information in a target region on a surface of afield or a surface layer of the field, the environment informationcollecting system comprising: a plurality of sensor elements which arescattered in the target region where the environment information iscollected, of which at least one of reflection properties, transmissionproperties, absorption properties, or luminescence properties withrespective to an electromagnetic wave with a specific wavelength, orlight emitting properties changes in accordance with an environment; andan aircraft configured to receive the electromagnetic wave obtained fromthe plurality of sensor elements and configured to collect theenvironment information in the target region, wherein the aircraft isfurther configured to scatter the plurality of sensor elements in thetarget region.
 2. The environment information collecting systemaccording to claim 1, wherein the aircraft comprises: a receiverconfigured to receive the electromagnetic wave obtained from theplurality of sensor elements; and a recorder configured to record areception result of the receiver.
 3. The environment informationcollecting system according to claim 2, wherein the aircraft is furtherconfigured to detect position information of the aircraft, and whereinthe recorder records the reception result of the receiver along with theposition information detected by the aircraft.
 4. The environmentinformation collecting system according to claim 3, wherein the aircraftis further configured to output, to outside of the aircraft, thereception result and the position information recorded by the recorder.5. The environment information collecting system according to claim 1,wherein the aircraft comprises a transmitter configured to transmit theelectromagnetic wave with the specific wavelength to the target region.6. The environment information collecting system according to claim 1,wherein the electromagnetic wave with the specific wavelength is amillimeter wave, a terahertz wave, an infrared ray, a visible ray, anultraviolet ray, or an X-ray.
 7. The environment information collectingsystem according to claim 1, wherein the electromagnetic wave obtainedfrom the plurality of sensor elements is an electromagnetic wave with awavelength that is different from the specific wavelength of theelectromagnetic wave.
 8. The environment information collecting systemaccording to claim 1, wherein the aircraft comprises: a plurality ofrotary wings; and a flight controller configured to control theplurality of rotary wings in accordance with flight route informationindicating a preset flight route and configured to cause the aircraft toautonomously fly along the preset flight route.
 9. The environmentinformation collecting system according to claim 1, wherein at least oneof the plurality of sensor elements comprises a fertilizer component.10. The environment information collecting system according to claim 1,wherein the environment information indicates at least one of watercontent, a temperature, pH, or an amount of sunshine.
 11. An aircraftthat collects environment information in a target region on a surface ofa field or a surface layer of the field, the aircraft comprising: areceiver configured to receive an electromagnetic wave obtained from aplurality of sensor elements, which are scattered in a target regionwhere the environment information is collected, of which at least one ofreflection properties, transmission properties, absorption properties,or luminescence properties with respect to the electromagnetic wave witha specific wavelength, or light emitting properties changes inaccordance with an environment; and a recorder configured to record areception result of the receiver, wherein the aircraft is configured toscatter the plurality of sensor elements in the target region.
 12. Theaircraft according to 11, further comprising: a transmitter configuredto transmit the electromagnetic wave with the specific wavelength to thetarget region.
 13. The aircraft according to claim 11, wherein theelectromagnetic wave with the specific wavelength is a millimeter wave,a terahertz wave, an infrared ray, a visible ray, an ultraviolet ray, oran X-ray.
 14. The aircraft according to claim 11, wherein theelectromagnetic wave obtained from the plurality of sensor elements isan electromagnetic wave with a wavelength that is different from thespecific wavelength of the electromagnetic wave.
 15. The aircraftaccording to claim 11, further comprising: a plurality of rotary wings;and a flight controller configured to control the plurality of rotarywings in accordance with flight route information indicating a presetflight route and configured to cause the aircraft to autonomously flyalong the preset flight route.
 16. The aircraft according to claim 11,wherein at least one of the plurality of sensor elements comprises afertilizer component.
 17. The aircraft according to claim 11, whereinthe aircraft is further configured to detect position information of theaircraft, wherein the recorder records the reception result of thereceiver along with the position information detected by the aircraft.18. The aircraft according to claim 17, wherein the aircraft is furtherconfigured to output, to outside of the aircraft, the reception resultand the position information recorded by the recorder.